Carving and Serving eBook

breast and the tail down to the backbone on each side,
remove the entrails, and break off the backbone just
below the ribs. Separate the side-bones from
the back by cutting close to the backbone from one
end to the other on each side. This is a little
difficult to do; and in your first experiment it would
be better not to divide it until after boiling it,
as it separates more easily after the connecting gristle
has been softened by cooking. Take off the neck
close to the back by cutting through the flesh and
twisting or wringing it until the bone is disjointed.

Cut off the wish-bone in a slanting direction from
the front of the breast-bone down to the shoulder
on each side. Cut through the cartilage between
the end of the collar-bone and the breast. Cut
between the end of the shoulder-blade and the back
down toward the wing-joint, turn the blade over toward
the neck, and cut through the joint.

This joint in the wing, collar-bone, and shoulder-blade
is the hardest to separate. Remove the breast
from the back by cutting through the cartilage connecting
the ribs; this can be seen from the inside. The
breast should be left whole and the bone removed after
stewing; but if the chicken is to be fried you may
remove the bone first.

It is not necessary in boiling a chicken to divide
it so minutely, for the wings and legs can be disjointed,
and the side-bones and breast separated from the back
more easily after cooking; but it is valuable practice,
and if one learns to do it neatly it will help in carving
a boiled fowl or roast turkey.

In arranging a fricasseed chicken on the platter,
put the neck and ribs at the left end of the dish
and the backbone at the right end. Put the breast
over the ribs, arrange the wings on each side of the
breast, the second joints next to the side-bones,
and cross the ends of the drumsticks over the tail.

BOILED FOWL OR TURKEY.

Fowls or turkeys for boiling should be trussed with
the ends of the legs drawn into the body through a
slit in the skin, and kept in place with a small skewer.
Turn the tip of the wing over on the back. Cut
off the neck, not the skin, close to the body, and
after putting in the stuffing, fasten the skin of
the neck to the back. Put strips of cloth round
it, or pin it in a cloth, to keep it white and preserve
the shape.

In carving, place it on the platter with the head
at the left. Put the fork in firmly across the
breast-bone. With the point of the knife cut
through the skin near the tail, and lift the legs out
from the inside. Then cut through the skin between
the legs and body, bend the leg over, and cut across
through the joint. Cut from the top of the shoulder
down toward the body until the wing-joint is exposed,
then cut through this, separating the wing from the
body. Remove the leg and wing from the other
side. Shave off a thin slice on the end of the
breast toward each wing-joint, slip the knife under
at the top of the breast-bone, and turn back the wish-bone.